We've asked Microsoft to comment on the PR cock-up, but it hadn't immediately got back to us.

In the meantime, the download page reveals that the RC will be available until June this year, there's no limit on product key and it's set to expire in June 2010.

It also details hardware spec requirements for the operating system, including a PC running a minimum 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor or higher, 1GB of system memory and support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory.

So there you have it, Microsoft has inadvertently set the clock ticking but many will be wondering if it can stick to the schedule this time. ®